Here's How Uber Beat The Las Vegas Taxi Industry

Understanding why Uber was eager to enter the Vegas market is as easy as taking a cursory glance at the Strip — and those painfully long taxi lines — any weekend night. Vegas is one of the most lucrative transportation markets in the country, with some 41.1 million visitors passing through it annually and the city’s taxi industry raking in a whopping $290,354,312 this year to date. In 2014, when Uber began eyeing the market, it was dominated by taxis, black cars, and privately owned shuttle buses, making it often a transportation nightmare for visiting tourists, and a hell on earth for locals looking for rides beyond the Vegas Strip. In Vegas, Uber saw an opportunity to do what it does best: shake up entrenched local cab dynasties and dramatically increase its market share in the process.